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LeBron James Draws Controversy for Police Escort to Jay-Z Concert

Four-time NBA MVP and two-time NBA champion LeBron James has drawn controversy for the preferential treatment “King James” was recently shown by the Miami police.

A video posted by James shows Miami-Dade police escorting the Miami Heat star and his fiancée Savannah Brinson to a Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z concert at Sun Life Stadium on Aug. 16.

The video shows James and his fiancée in a car following a police escort on the wrong side of the road. The brake lights of other cars sitting in traffic can be seen on the right hand side of the video.

James wrote on Twitter shortly thereafter, “They treat us so well! Needed it cause traffic was nuts!!”

The video sparked controversy both within the police department and among the public, according to CNN.

Miami-Dade Det. Alvaro Zabaleta told CNN that police supervisors were contacted by stadium personnel, who had received a call that James was stuck in traffic. An officer was dispatched to the basketball star’s location while others held traffic in the oncoming lanes. Zabaleta said the escort covered eight blocks, or “from one intersection to another.”

However, the escort violated department policy, he said.

“We don’t have our units ever go against traffic,” Zabaleta told CNN. “The officer shouldn’t have done that. But he didn't flagrantly say, ‘I’m not going to worry about it’. He did stop traffic for eight blocks. And that was the end of it.”

Or perhaps not, as Miami-Dade officials are continuing to look into the incident.

James made headlines again a few days later for a less serious matter, when he was spotted on a tour in the Philippines with a new haircut which has left him nearly bald.